Angelo Mathews, Kusal Mendis, and Suranga Lakmal failed to make it to the ODI side but found themselves in the Test squad to face England after a lengthy press conference last evening.

The England tour of Sri Lanka will commence with the one-day internationals starting 10th of October 2018 at the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium.

Angelo Mathews who led the team in the UAE lost his place in the ODI squad due to lack of fitness and one major point highlighted at the press conference was running between the wickets.

(Ross Setford/SNPA via AP) NEW ZEALAND OUT

“Running between the wickets is a very big concern for us at the moment – for the whole team, not only for [Mathews]. We want him to get fitter. His average since 2017 is 59 – I know that. And he scored 97 runs against South Africa three matches ago. But there are certain concerns. If you look at his record, he has been involved in about 64 run outs, and 49 times the opposite guy got run out. That’s a world record. Those are the things that we’ve been looking at. But I want him back as fresh as possible, and clear as possible, to serve the Sri Lankan team,” said head coach Chandika Hathurusingha at the press conference.

A couple of days back, Angelo Mathews wrote to Sri Lanka Cricket claiming he was made scapegoat after the side’s dismal performance at the Asia Cup. Sri Lanka Cricket excluded Mathews from the team sheet that was sent to the ministry for approval. Mathews demanded a fair fitness test but last evening the 15 man squad was officially announced at the media briefing.